A new municipal climate change effort has been launched in Danvers, and organisers are calling for volunteers to assist them to build a more sustainable neighbourhood.
Resilient Danvers, which was founded this year, aims to develop Danvers’ first Climate Action, Sustainability, Preservation and Resiliency (CASPR) strategy and combat climate change through local action.
With the help of this strategy, the town and its citizens will be able to lower greenhouse gas emissions, which are carbon-based pollutants that are warming the world at alarming rates and causing holes in the atmosphere.
“Most of us are dealing with the subject of climate change. and we can take action locally to address it,” said Jeff Elie, project manager for Resilient Danvers and the town’s manager of energy resources.
By the beginning of 2023, Resilient Danvers will have finished community evaluations, data analysis, and stakeholder and community engagement activities.
The strategy will concentrate on how the municipality can act to lessen the consequences of climate change and lower its carbon footprint in six different areas. Buildings, land use, transportation, energy, natural resources, solid waste, public health, and safety are a few examples.
“This won’t be a static strategy that remains on a shelf. It’s a strategy of action,” Elie added.
Volunteers from the community are being sought by the programme to serve as Climate Engagement Champions. These volunteers would spread the word about the town’s CASPR plan and climate change at gatherings, organisations, and public places throughout Danvers.
More help is preferable, according to Elie. especially given that the community could be severely impacted by climate change.
Danvers would experience more downed trees and power lines, higher energy demand, reduced water supplies, property damage, and an increase in heat-related illnesses and insect-transmitted diseases, according to the initiative’s website. These effects are predicted to be brought on by increased storms and more severe weather patterns brought on by climate change.
Elie declared, “Sea level rise, storm surge, and all the problems associated with climate change are real for Danvers.
The community is already making efforts to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels for energy.
According to Elie, around 55 per cent of the energy used by Danvers’ electric division to supply electricity to the town is non-carbon emitted, and according to the state’s decarbonization strategy, this percentage is anticipated to rise to 80 per cent by 2030.
In order to encourage the adoption of technology that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels, the town has expanded rebate schemes. Additionally, it hired a consultant the previous year to estimate Danvers’ greenhouse gas emissions.
When it comes to greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, Elie added, “We really needed to face climate change. We’ve done vulnerability assessments and other bigger-picture stuff we wanted to tackle.
Daniel Bennett, a member of the Danvers Select Board, recognised the necessity of this after attending a symposium on environmental issues in January 2019.
Bennett stated, “I returned with 11 questions for the town manager and the town concerns about the environment. “Is this a green town? Why don’t we live in a green town? What are we doing to prepare for the installation of future electric vehicle refuelling stations? What are we doing to address the 106 gas leaks in the neighbourhood that National Grid has?
Bennett added, “They didn’t have the answers to those questions.”
Town officials were inspired to develop Resilient Danvers and a CASPR plan as a result of conversations like this. Although the plan is still in the early phases of preparation, this fall there will be a public meeting where residents can offer suggestions on what steps the town should take.
You must begin somewhere, right? and home is the best place of all,” Bennett remarked.
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